Two things have been on my mind, 1) the presence of the Lord, and 2) God’s Sovereignty over all, all things, all events, all creatures and all people, in heaven and on earth.  These are related most definitely, the first assures us of the second.  When Moses met with God in the tent of meeting, he came out and his face was shining.  He covered his face as the light was fading.  “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?…We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face 

to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.” (2 Cor. 3: 7-8,13).  

In the presence of the Lord, Moses face became radiant for a while, then it faded away. Scripture tells us that the ministry of the Spirit will be more glorious.  “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3: 18).  Moreover, when all things are fulfilled the light of God will illuminate all heaven and we will be given light.  “No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22: 3-5).

God’s Sovereignty is simple in its basic meaning – God is in control, but also very deep in its application.  If we keep in mind that God is infinite, even though the human mind cannot fully grasp infinity or eternity, we may avoid the trap of measuring God by the limits of human reasoning.  God is good and loving and He is supreme over all His creation.  It is for His will that everything exists.  “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1: 11-12).  When we encounter people or events that cause hardship, we may not be able to make sense of it, but we can take comfort that nothing happens to us by random chance.  We are told to endure hardship as discipline. (Heb. 12: 7).  Never tell those who are suffering hardship that they are being disciplined for their good.  That is insensitive, not helpful, and wrong for too many reasons to explain here.  One of the most famous verses in times of unexplainable hardship says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rom. 8: 28-30).  

Each of these verses encourage us to rely on God’s Sovereignty because He is accomplishing His will in and through us.  The world we live in is filled with deception and we are so fallible, broken and blind to spiritual reality that irrefutable truth can seem as a paradox.  A paradox is something that seems impossible or contradictory, but in reality expresses truth.  This world is full of evil, lies, injustice, crime, war, hate, and atrocity, but a good and loving Creator God rules over everything and accomplishes His will, how can this be?  The best answer to this can be seen as men put God’s one and only son to death on a cross.  They said to Yeshua, ” ‘Come down from the cross and save yourself!’  In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves.  ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!  Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’  Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” (Mark 15: 30-32).  

Here we see the Messiah, Son of God, killed by wicked men, looking like a false, powerless weakling, a failure and defeated leader who could not save himself or free himself from his cross.  However, the true reality is that by offering himself to death, He paid the penalty for all who believe and are saved by this gift of His blood sacrifice.  Multitudes and generations would become the children of God Almighty through this offering that set men free from the law of sin and death.  In this same way the world taunts each believer today.  If your God is all-powerful and loves you, why would He allow you to be cheated, mistreated, abused, hurt, ridiculed and slandered.  The answer is the same today, God is invisible to the human eye and His authority and will are incomprehensible to those who do not live by faith in God.

It is not uncommon to hear unbelievers accuse and slander God, by saying something to the effect that, I can not believe in a God who would do or allow such and such, or send so and so to Hell.  All these assertions are erroneous in their premise, “a God who would ….”, God is good and His will is beyond question or scrutiny by mere men.  Any scenario imagined by men to characterize God as cruel, unjust, unloving or evil is a lie.  God’s wrath is being stored up for the wicked who fully deserve and chose to receive it. Horrible atrocities have happened, but that does not mean that God initiated these events, that He is to blame, nor that those who suffered it were ignored or treated unjustly by God.  These ‘what if’ scenarios are fictional notions that have the sole purpose of mischaracterizing God with a false premise, e.g. every child born deserves to live a long life.  

In fact, some through God’s grace are spared a life of torment.  “The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” (Isa. 57: 1-2).  Usually, wicked people who themselves favor killing the innocent unborn child are the ones who accuse God as a murderer of the innocent.  We all die, young or old, God is Sovereign over the timing of each person’s death.  I have heard the testimony of many who were facing death, some by their own will, but were unexplainably spared.  In truth God is just, loving and merciful.  We are broken, sinful and live in a fallen world as a result of man’s rebellion against our loving creator.  However, Yeshua has opened the way to restore the right relationship of Man to God.  It was His Sovereign action that did this and believers now enjoy the glorious presence and light of Father God Almighty.